Which description best fits Japanese Pachysandra?

• A. Grows as a tall shrub with red berries
• B. Spreads by suckers, with greenish white flowers; about 8 inches high
• C. Climbs trees with orange flowers
• D. Is a herb with purple flowers

Answer: (B)

Japanese Pachysandra is a creeping, evergreen groundcover. It spreads through runners (suckers) to form a dense mat, stays low in height (about 8 inches), and has small greenish-white flowers in spring. The description that best fits this plant notes both its spreading by runners and its low height with those pale flowers, which matches Pachysandra terminalis. The other options describe plants with markedly different growth forms—tall shrubs with berries, climbers with orange blossoms, or herbaceous plants with purple flowers—so they don’t fit Pachysandra’s characteristic habit.